


Pleasure Island

by thealphagate_archivist



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: First Time, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-03-21
Updated: 2006-03-21
Packaged: 2019-02-02 11:12:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 23,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12725532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thealphagate_archivist/pseuds/thealphagate_archivist
Summary: Teal'c, Sam and Hammond worry about Jack and Daniel's friendship and leave the duo alone on a desert island to let them work it out for themselves.





	Pleasure Island

**Author's Note:**

> Note from the archivists: this story was originally archived at [The Alpha Gate](https://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Alpha_Gate), a Stargate SG-1 archive, which began migration to the AO3 in 2017 when its hosting software, eFiction, was no longer receiving support. To preserve the archive, we began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in November 2017. We e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are this creator and it hasn't transferred to your AO3 account, please contact us using the e-mail address on [The Alpha Gate collection profile](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/thealphagate).

Major Samantha Carter hurried into General George Hammond's office, determined to get some help for the problem that was quickly becoming the entire focus of SG-1. 

"General, we have to do something about Colonel O'Neill and Daniel," she said, swinging open the door to her Commander's office. 

"Please, do come in, Major," said Hammond, none too pleased at the cavalier attitude the second-in-command of SG-1 had shown to normal protocol. Maybe she had been spending too much time with Colonel O'Neill. 

"Sorry, Sir; it's just I don't know what to do anymore." 

"I concur with Major Carter," came the deep rumbling voice of Teal'c from the hallway. The large Jaffa entered the room and closed the door. "This has gone on long enough and must cease. I am concerned that if we do not find a way to bring back O'Neill and Daniel Jackson to their former working relationship then we may no longer have an SG-1." 

Hammond could feel his eyebrows rise almost to where his hairline used to be. If Teal'c was actually using words like concerned, whatever was going on with his frontline unit was very big and it had him worried sick. 

"What is the nature of this emergency that the SGC is facing, Major, Teal'c?," asked the general, leaning back in his chair. 

Sam glanced at Teal'c. Maybe they had made a mistake; things couldn't be that bad that they had to go to the general, could they? Maybe she had been imagining the whole thing; after all, Jack and Daniel had been the best of friends for almost five years. There was no reason to question their loyalty to each other, was there, questioned Sam of herself looking around the room at Teal'c? 

The alien saw the doubt cross his friend's eyes but he had almost five times her battle experience and the former first Prime of Apophis knew that if the problem was not dealt with now it would grow much like the cancer that affected Samantha Carter's father. But instead of killing just one man it would destroy all of the SG-1 and possibly the whole Stargate project, and with that the hopes he had for saving his people. 

And that was something Teal'c could not, nor would he allow, it to happen. He had been through too much with these people. He considered them not only fellow warriors but also he thought of them as his family; and as such he would be derelict in his duties if he allowed his family to break up just because two of them were the most stubborn pigheaded humans in the universe. 

"Major Carter and I have recently begun to notice a few changes in the behaviour of Colonel O'Neill and Daniel Jackson, towards each other. We are unable to come up with a working hypothesis as to what brought on these changes between the two of them, but we feel that the latest trip to Euronda might have played a role in the last few altercations we have had the misfortune of witnessing," Teal'c recited without taking a breath. 

Hammond got to his feet and wandered over to look out onto the gate room. "What kind of altercations are you talking about? I hope we aren't talking of a violent nature," he demanded hopeful that he was wrong and that the problems between the two men hadn't gotten as far as fisticuffs. 

"Oh no, sir," jumped in Sam. "Nothing like that." 

"Then what are we talking about, Major?" questioned the Texan, his concern growing with each second. The members of SG-1 had become a surrogate family for him, and he saw himself as the father to this little motley and mixed up family. 

Sam took a deep breath and tried to convince herself that she wasn't a tattletale and that this really was best for all concerned. "It seems that Colonel O'Neill and Daniel have been having some difficulties in getting along. They are constantly bickering and sniping at each other." 

Hammond breathed a sigh of relief. "Is that all, Major? As you and I both know, the colonel and Doctor Jackson seemed to have a unique relationship. What you and I considered dysfunctional seems to be their way of communicating." 

"Yes, sir, I understand that; and believe me after almost five years of this I am well aware of the colonel and Daniel's unique relationship. But there is something new at work here. Where it used to be good-natured fun, it's now almost personal attacks and abuse," explained Sam genuinely concerned for her two best friends . 

"I must agree with Major Carter, General Hammond," said Teal'c firmly. "I do not understand what brought about the change, but what I do know is that if something is not done soon there will be things said that cannot be taken back, and the damage irrevocable." 

"I did notice that something seemed amiss during the last briefing but I never suspected it had gotten as bad as all this," drawled the general. "What do you suggest we do?" 

Carter looked over at Teal'c and nodded for him to explain the plan. "I have mentioned to Major Carter that we could try Cules'rak," 

Hammond's forehead wrinkled. "Cules'rak? What is it?" 

"Well, as near as I can figure out from what Teal'c has told me, it's a test of survival, but both parties must work together. Is that about right?" asked Sam of the black man. 

Teal'c nodded. "Essentially that is the basis of it. But we have to make sure that the two warriors, in this case O'Neill and Daniel Jackson, are not aware that they are being tested. If they do, they would simply agree to get along for the moment, and appear to have solved the challenge, but once back they would resume their former ways and we would be back at square one, I believe the proper term is." 

"Ok so how do we do that?" demanded Hammond. He was willing to try almost anything if it meant getting his prime team back into top form. 

"We kidnap them," said Teal'c as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. 

General Hammond shook his head trying to clear out the cobwebs that must be in his ears. "I don't think I heard you correctly. We kidnap them?" 

"I think I understand, General. The colonel and Daniel have to believe that what has happened is truly occurring. They can't suspect for one moment that what is going on is a set up or the test will have no validity," explained the doctor part of Major Carter's brain. "So if they feel that they have been truly kidnapped they will act like it and try to work together to solve the problem." 

Hammond nodded; he was beginning to see the purpose behind this 'test' as Carter called it. And he was at the point where he had nothing to lose; he couldn't very well send SG-1 into the field given their current state. Who knew what would happen out there? He had no doubt that both men could and would act like professionals but still there was that little bit of doubt. If anything did go wrong he wouldn't be able to live with himself. But if they were having problems maybe there was a good reason behind it. It wouldn't be the first time a team under his command had to be split up because of personality conflicts. To be honest, he was surprised that Jack had been willing to work with Doctor Jackson for as long as he had. Given his well-known opinions on scientists. 

"Are we sure that this is a good idea, Major, Teal'c?" asked Hammond suddenly. 

"What do you mean, sir? It seems like the only way to get back our Team the way it used to be," Carter added, trying to control her anger. 

"And that's my point, Major. Maybe what has happened is for a reason. Even after 5 years the closest of people with the most interests in common can grow apart. Maybe what we have witnessed over the last few months is just that, two people drifting. Perhaps we should consider the need to move one or both of Colonel O'Neill and Doctor Jackson." 

Teal'c and Sam both looked desperately at each other. No SG-1? Was that even possible? 

"Please sir, before you break us up, could we try Teal'c's plan? He assures me that it almost never fails," pleaded Sam. 

"And the times it had?" he asked sourly. 

"Then we had the proof that the two in question were unsuitable to work together," offered Teal'c. 

"Sir, please. There has to be something that has caused this rift. I'm sure that given the time they would work it out, and if this were any normal work place, I would be more than willing to let them. But ..." 

"But too many lives hang in the balance. Yes, I understand, Major, and I am willing to go along with your plan," interrupted Hammond, rising to join his two subordinates on the other side of his desk. "How do you propose we pull this little kidnapping scheme off." 

Both Teal'c and Sam were shocked by the gleam in the general's eyes. 

"Well, sir," said Sam. "It has to be somewhere on Earth, anywhere with a gate and they would just gate back before we could even get our feet up and play dumb. It also has to be somewhere that is deserted and that they couldn't escape from too easily. There is also the question of supplies. We could give them C-Rats but then they might suspect that they were being set up." 

"So what do we do?" demanded George, trying not to look like he was enjoying himself too much, but he had always wanted to find a way to pay back Colonel Jack O'Neill for all his little pranks and snide jokes. It had taken 4 years but the time had finally come. 

"What about one of those islands in the state of Minnesota that O'Neill is always going on about?" Teal'c questioned of his companions. 

Carter looked at Hammond and they both broke into smiles. "Perfect," they said in unison. 

It was summer so the wilds of Minnesota would not be too cold for them and there would be plenty of wild game so that they were all assured that the duo would not starve. But just to make sure they would throw a few MREs in a backpack with a few other things needed for survival in the woods. Who knew, thought Carter as her and her co-conspirators worked out the last few details, Jack may get in that fishing he was always talking about. 

They decided to proceed with Operation Grizzly as soon as they could locate a secure isolated island in Minnesota. Grizzly was chosen since both Hammond and Carter were sure Jack was going to be as sore as a Grizzly that just woke up from his winter's nap when he was told about this plan. 

But all agreed it was worth it if it brought back SG-1. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

A week later 

"God, what another long and boring day, " groaned Colonel Jack O'Neill, pulling into his driveway. The highlight was yet another fight with Daniel over something small and inconsequential. He thought it was the fact that one of the lines on a shard of pottery the younger man was intently studying reminded him of a hockey stick. 

How could he help that the written language of the natives of PX3 427 reminded him about his favourite past time? 

How many fights did this make in the last week between him and Danny? Let's see it was Thursday, so that meant at least two fights a day and there had been three on Monday. It must have been because he and Daniel had been apart for the weekend; they had to catch up. 

When did things get like this? There used to be a time when they could talk about anything: sports, politics, religion. But now it seemed that even the weather was a topic that needed to be avoided . The problem was if they didn't yell then they said nothing. He was finding that the silence was worse than the yelling ever could be. He missed the way things used to be but he was damned if he could figure out a way to get things back to the way they were; too many things had been said and done. 

Jack bowed his head over the steering wheel of his jeep. He wasn't sure how much more of this he was going to be able to take. Maybe it was time to just cut his losses and move on. He would never ask Daniel to leave; the archaeologist was too important to the SGC, and SG-1 was the only family he had. So that left Jack O'Neill as the expendable one. 

He had already retired once; he could do it again. It was obvious that he was causing Danny pain on an almost daily basis and that their fighting was causing friction between SG-1 members. 

It had taken a lot of hard work on his part to get past the fact that Daniel was a well- educated man and a scientist, but bad-ass Colonel Jack O'Neill finally had managed to do just that. He was also able to discover that he wasn't the only person in this universe who had to deal with a painful past. 

There was so much of Daniel's life that he wouldn't wish on his worst enemy, well human enemies, on this planet. As for those out there in space, that was another story. The Goa'uld were an entirely different story. They could do with some of the pain that Daniel had felt in his life. Hell, they were the cause of most, but not all, of Danny's pain. 

As for what caused the rest of it, Jack could only imagine. And his imagination probably couldn't even come close to the truth. He knew most of it had to do with Daniel's parents being killed and his grandfather Nicholas 'the bastard' Ballard not taking him in when he was eight years old. That kind of rejection from your only living family member could damage even the strongest of egos. 

So many of Danny's fears seem to centre around the idea that he was somehow unworthy of anyone's time or attention. But Jack often suspected that there were other things hidden somewhere is Daniel's past that he refused to talk about. Dark things that he could see pass across Danny's gorgeous blue eyes when he thought no one was looking. 

Jack glanced down at his radio console. It was 19:12. 

"Shit, the game started 12 minutes ago," he swore. He had been sitting in his car for almost 45 minutes ago thinking about Doctor Daniel Jackson. 

"Damn it, Danny, you sure seem to be worth my time, even when I don't want to think about you," O'Neill groused, grabbing the few groceries that he had in the backseat and heading towards his suburban home. 

It was Friday night. That used to mean hockey and a homemade dinner with Daniel. Now it just meant hockey, and whatever frozen dinner he could find at the grocer on sale. 

It reminded him a lot of what his life was like before he met Daniel. Just before the Abydos mission when he and Sara fought about everything and he couldn't get past his guilt over Charlie's death. The only difference was that he hadn't crawled into a bottle, yet. Not that he had any plans for that, Danny would never survive that guilt if he knew he was the cause of Jack's return to the bottle. But wait, why should he need a bottle, it was not like he and Daniel were married. Not that it was stopping them from fighting like he and Sara did. 

Each accusing the other of deliberate wrong doings. 

Daniel saying that Jack was a military automaton that was only interested in following orders even if it lead to the destruction of an entire race. That the colonel didn't have a caring bone in his entire body. That he was shut off and repressed. Daniel had gotten quite a few licks in before Jack came back with his own hits. Jack cringed as he thought about all the nasty things that he had said to Danny on Euronda, and since their return from that new age Nazi world. But if he thought back, and really thought about it, most of this stuff between them had started long before that mission. But what was once just common play fighting and teasing had taken on a stronger edge. And he was at a loss to explain why. 

He had accused Jackson of being naive about the ways of the universe and careless about the lives of the Team and only out for his own glory. 

But in his heart he knew Jackson was a person, who cared more for others than himself. A man who never wanted to see anyone hurt. He never expected anyone to ever come after him when he ran into places where angels feared to go. And what really bothered Jack the most was that Danny really thought he was going to be left behind when he screwed up. 

How could he not believe that they would have waited for him if he had told Fraiser about the pain in his side. That damn appendix almost ended his life. How could anyone think so little of themselves when so many were willing to lay down their lives for him? When he, Jack O'Neill, had somehow found a space deep in his heart for wayward archaeologists; how could Daniel ever think of leaving him, demanded Jack, angrily? 

He first noticed how badly Daniel treated himself after he had been returned from Thor's ship. Fraiser had told him about how close Daniel had come to dying from that damn appendix of his. He went as far as accusing Daniel of having a death wish, since it was the only way he could explain someone even thinking of gating out when they had an appendicitis. It was, Jack screamed at Daniel, the only way he could understand some of the other stupid things Jackson had done; like beaming into a ship that was about to explode thanks to a naquadah bomb. 

Daniel had really let him have after that; Jack had simply tried to get them to talk but as usual where he and Daniel were concerned their passions seemed to overwhelm them and a fight ensued. Jack had been looking for a way to bring up his feelings but Daniel was having none of it. Finally tired of the third degree Daniel demanded to know what Jack was doing, the head of SG-1 had never shown that much interest in him of late. If fact Daniel had reminded him, most of the conversations of recent had involved Jack telling him to shut up. He wanted to argue to tell Daniel that he was wrong but before he could say anything, the object of his affection was gone. 

Later that day he heard that Daniel had gone off with Sg-10 on a three-week mission to survey a planet with a large historical find. It was the fifth such mission for Jackson in the last three weeks. Maybe Daniel had already made his decision regarding SG-1 for himself, thought Jack sadly juggling his groceries. 

"Damn!" exclaimed Jack, dropping the plastic bag with his supper on his foot while fumbling for his keys. 

With his attention turned he never saw the attack coming. All he would remember was a pain at the base of his neck and a warmth tingling through his body before nothingness. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

"Ugh," moaned Jack as he tried to get the awful taste in his mouth out, but unfortunately he didn't have enough spit to even lick his lips. He opened his eyes only to shut them quickly as the bright sun tried to burn his retinas. 

Without his sight, he began to explore using his other senses. 

Jack took a deep breath. He could smell pine trees and lots of fresh air. It was a familiar scent. 

Next he let his ears open to the sound of birds calling and what sounded like chipmunks and squirrels chattering up high. 

Well, taste was out, Jack thought as there was finally enough saliva to spit out the cotton batting that was his mouth. His mouth still tasted like a sewer. 

O'Neill rolled off his back and onto all fours and felt the ground. It was soft and felt like sand to the touch. He refused to open his eyes just yet. Since he knew there were trees nearby, he intended to crawl into the shade of one of them before opening his eyes again. 

Slowly Jack made his way, staying on all fours, until he came to a bump in his road. He placed his hands on the object but jumped back when it groaned. 

"Damn," Jack swore; he knew he was going to have to open his eyes. Covering his eyes with his hand, Jack O'Neill, carefully opened his eyes. 

"Daniel," Jack gasped at the sight of his archaeologist curled up into a ball. "Danny, are you okay?" he called out trying to turn Daniel's body so that he could check him for injuries. If anything happened to Danny, he would hunt down the people and make them suffer. Please be ok, Danny, please. 

"Jack," he said very slowly. "I don't feel so good." 

"I know, babe. Just keep your eyes closed; that sun is a killer," the colonel ordered. He then set about checking out Jackson. Daniel never reacted too well to anaesthetics. They usually made him sick. Jack asked a few questions but found nothing more than the same things that seemed to affect him; a bad taste in the mouth, a headache, a bit of light sensitivity and, in Daniel's case, an upset stomach. Thank God that was all. 

"Ok, Danny, I'm going to go and try to find us some shelter and I want you to stay here while I go do it," Jack explained, and sat on his haunches to wait for the inevitable argument that Daniel was famous for. He really wanted to get him out of the sun. 

"I'm not an invalid, Jack; I can pull my own weight," Daniel snapped crossly, sitting up only to fall back down covering his eyes when he tried to open them. Damn, he swore to himself, the geek fails again. 

"Daniel, I know it's hard but could you once listen to the voice of experience? I've already gone through what you are doing, and that sun is incredibly bright, so just sit here and relax. Once we are in the shade, you can open them. I'm going to go and find us some shelter. Since we don't know where we are, or what the nights are going to be like here, I suggest we prepare for anything. All right?" Jack asked, gently touching Daniel's cheek. 

Daniel shrugged, somewhat confused by Jack's concerned nature. God, he hated being indebted to anyone, especially Jack O'Neill. The man already thought he was the biggest dweeb this side of the galaxy. 

"Yeah, ok, but hurry back. I'm not crazy about being blind." 

"You got it," said Jack, hopping up to his feet with only a slight leaning to the left. He gave a quick squeeze to Danny's shoulder to let him know he was going. 

Daniel Jackson laid himself back down to the ground and tried to remember the last thing his brain could actively recall. He listened to Jack in the forest. He figured it was the SF colonel's way to reassure him that he wasn't alone. It was nice of Jack, it had been a long time since either of them had shown any concern for the other. 

The last thing he could recall was thinking that he shouldn't be standing in front of his apartment door on a Friday night. It was wrong. He should have been at Jack's making some exotic dish from his many travels that Jack always complained about in its uncooked form but was quick to praise once it was served. Then there was the hockey game. It had taken him a long time to understand Jack's attraction to hockey, but after a few years he had started to get it. The rules were still a mystery but it was hard not to get caught up in O'Neill's enthusiasm for the game. 

But usually what caught his interest by the end was Jack. Jack's hands, face, smile, but most of all his lips. God how he wanted nothing more than to reach over in between periods and kiss those luscious red lips. 

And on the bright side, over the years he had won a lot of money from Jack, who always insisted on making those games interesting. 

"Ok, Danny, I found us a nice spot," said Jack, happily placing a hand on his shoulder. "It's near some water and there are a few berry bushes. They almost look like blueberries. There's a lot of wood so we won't have to go too far for fuel for the fire. I even saw some rabbits around here." 

"What make you think that they are rabbits, Jack?" Daniel asked trying to rise to his feet, only to be helped up by Jack's strong arms. 

"Because, Danny-boy they look like rabbits and act like rabbits. So I'm going to call them rabbits," said Jack sarcastically. 

"No, Jack," Daniel sighed. "I mean why rabbits? That's an earth term; why use that term?" 

"Because unless the Goa'uld came and zapped us in their ships, or the SGC was overtaken somehow, there would be no way to get us off the planet," Jack said snappishly. 

"Oh yeah, right," Daniel said, hanging his head. "I guess I wasn't thinking." 

Way to go, fathead, Jack said to himself. How would Daniel know any of this; he hasn't been able to open his eyes? 

"I'm sorry, Daniel. I'm just a little cranky about that forced sleep I had to take. I didn't mean to yell at you." 

Daniel opened his eyes in shock, only to close them again fast. "Ouch," he yelled. 

"What did I tell you?" Jack asked, stopping Daniel from tripping over his feet. 

"Sorry, I just wanted to know what you did with the real Jack O'Neill," said a dumbfounded Doctor Jackson. 

"Very funny, Danny. Are you ready to go?" asked Jack taking Daniel by the elbow. It would be the easiest way to guide him around the rocks and shrubs. 

"I guess as ready as I'll ever be. The sooner we get away from here the sooner I can see," Daniel remarked, his frustration growing. "And the sooner we can figure out where we are. And how we are going to get back." 

"You got that right," agreed Jack. He wasn't sure how much longer he would be able to have his hands on Daniel without trying to remove his clothes. 

Whoa, where the hell did that thought come from? Jack demanded of himself as he helped steer Daniel around a tricky part of brush. He thought he had buried feelings like that a long time ago, and why would he have feelings like that for his very straight once-married friend, not to mention an ill friend? 

"Jack," called out Daniel. 

"What?" he said louder than he intended. 

"Nothing, other than if you grip my elbow any tighter, I won't have one left," explained Daniel, trying to pry Jack's fingers from his arm. But just as they stopped, Daniel tripped on a tree root. Jack grabbed him but only changed his direction; the doctor fell on top of him instead. 

Daniel couldn't hold back anymore; he opened his eyes only to have his first sight that of Jack's warm parted lips. 

"Oh, God," Daniel groaned as he rolled over and covered his eyes. Of all the things for him to see. Those lips that had been haunting his dreams for a while. 

"Daniel, are you ok?" asked Jack, rolling him over onto his back? 

"Yeah, Jack. Could you help me up?" 

Jack reluctantly rosed to his feet. Damn, for a moment he had everything he wanted in his grubby little hands. Reaching down he pulled Daniel to his feet. Jack ran his hands over Daniel pretending to be dusting him off but even he wasn't that good a liar to himself. He knew he just wanted to feel Daniel in his arms one more time. 

"Jack, what are you doing?" Daniel asked innocently. 

"Uhm... Just making sure you are ok," he answered calmly, even though his heart was beating fast enough to cause a heart attack. 

"But I never landed on my ass, Jack. So why exactly are your hands there?" Daniel asked curious of the answer; maybe Jack did have some feelings for him similar to the ones he had for his CO. 

O'Neill looked down and was shocked to see that Daniel was right; his hands were most definitely on Daniel's ass. No manner of fast talking was going to get him out of this one. 

He quickly dropped his hands from Daniel's body and walked away. Jack was sure that he saw a slight pout of disappointment in Danny's face as he turned to lean against a tree. 

Christ, thought Daniel as he watched Jack walk away yet again. Why is it every time he was close to bring up the way he felt Jack would walk away? Not only when he tried to talk about his personal feelings for his commander but his feelings in general. Jack would let Sam go on about her latest project and Teal'c could sit and bore him with his endless foray into joke telling, but the minute Daniel would say I think, or I feel, Jack was quick to pick a fight and leave. Jack seemed to think his opinion held no value. Maybe it was time for him to figure out why that was. Was it that his opinion meant nothing, or did it mean everything and that scared a certain uptight Air Force colonel? 

Suddenly a moment of clarity hit. Did Jack not call him babe? It was time to call the colonel's bluff. 

"Jack," Daniel said, walking slowly towards the colonel. "I never said you had to move them. In fact, Jack, I kind of liked where you had them." He took Jack's hands in his and put them back onto his posterior. 

"Danny, what are you doing?" squeaked Jack, his voice about three octaves higher than normal. 

"I don't know, Jack. You tell me first; they were your hands," announced Daniel coyly stepping even closer into Jack's personal space. 

Jack took a deep breath. So much for all that training; he had no idea what to do. 

"Ah, Danny, I don't think this is such a good idea." 

"Why not?" demanded Daniel leaning his head onto Jack's shoulder. 

"Ah, well . . . " stuttered the black ops colonel. Try as he might, he couldn't think of anything other than Daniel's head resting on his shoulder like it belonged there. 

"That's a great reason, Jack," sighed Daniel blowing air across Jack's neck. "Do you know why people fight as much as you and I have the last few weeks?" 

O'Neill shivered from the gently breeze Daniel's words caused. "Um, no, I don't know. Why do you think we've been disagreeing?" 

Daniel laughed slightly at the description of their fights as disagreements. 

"Well, I have a theory." Daniel waited for Jack to make some smart-ass comment but when none came he moved closer into the warmth of Jack's arms. "That there are only two reasons people fight. One, they really hate each other but are forced to be together." 

"Or?" asked Jack trying to keep his hope in check. 

"They really, really like each other," explained Daniel bringing his lips up to meet Jack's. "But are too afraid to say anything." 

Jack could feel his arms moving around the strong body of the other man. Everything was automatic, it was as if their bodies were meant to be together. He opened his mouth to allow Daniel's seeking tongue in. God, the taste was like nothing he could ever have imagined. There was the flavour of coffee but there was also something else, something more wild, exotic. Maybe it was all those languages that tongue knew how to speak. 

Jack moved in closer; he pulled Daniel against him until they were chest-to-chest, groin-to- groin. Finally the spots that were forming in front of Jack's eyes from a lack of oxygen forced them to take a break. 

"What the hell was that?" Jack gasped, not relaxing his hold of the good doctor one bit. 

Jackson pulled back so he could see Jack's beautiful brown eyes. "A kiss, which means that I like you very, very much," Daniel sighed moving to nibble on his colonel's throat. 

"Oh, ohhh, Danny," moaned Jack as he shivered with each little nip Daniel took at his skin. Somewhere inside O'Neill pleasure-soaked brain a small voice was yelling at him to stop. He should be asking questions. Daniel had never shown any interest in him like this before. Maybe this was all a dream, or someone's idea of a sick joke. 

The idea that this could all be part of his imagination; pulled the colonel up short and whithered his little soldier faster than any cold shower could have. 

Daniel could sense a change in Jack. The colonel grabbed onto his shoulders and squeeze hard. "What is it, Jack?" he asked carefully, whincing from the pain. Maybe he had really stepped way over the line this time. Civilian or not, the Air Force takes that 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy very seriously. 

"No!" he yelled into his prisoner's face. "No, my Daniel isn't like this. He doesn't even like me, not after all the horrible things I've said and done to him over the past year. The only time things like this occur is in my dreams, and I know I'm not dreaming, so you can't really be Daniel." 

Daniel stared at the pain-filled brown eyes before his and felt tears welling up in his eyes. "Oh my God, Jack, how did we ever let it get this bad? I don't hate you," Daniel reassured the older man with a light caress across his weather face. "In spite of everything we have said to each over this rough time, my feelings for you have never changed. I love you and I always will." Daniel waited for all hell to break loose. He knew Jack didn't share his feeling; hell, he wasn't sure Jack even liked him anymore. It would be hard to leave the SCG, but maybe it was time he went back to academics and his first love. 

Suddenly as Jack was staring at those blue eyes, he knew that this was his Daniel. No one could ever make him feel what this man could. Whether anger or joy, Daniel always challenged him and that brought out the best in him. Only over the last few months he wasn't willing to show that to Daniel; he tried to keep it hidden away so that no one, including himself would have figured out the true depths of his feelings for this man. The other half of his soul. 

"Daniel, it really is you" he said with clarity, pulling the other man into a bearhug. 

"Yes, Jack, I'm really me," Daniel replied softly, not wanting to shatter the shared moment. 

"Thank God. I love you too," he said matter-of-factly and brought his mouth down onto the willing archaeologist's lips. 

Their tongues danced around each other before Jack's won and dipped into the hot moistness of Daniel's mouth. It was as sweet as honey. But that damn need to breathe broke them apart. 

"When, Jack?" asked Daniel sticking his tongue into Jack's ear. 

"When, what, Daniel?" moaned Jack pulling back, he couldn't think if Daniel kept doing things like that. 

The doctor took a step back away from Jack, anger shining in his eyes. "When did you decide that you loved me? Was it before I said it, or did you think if you said it you might get some, or was there an actual moment that you thought I can't live without that geek?" 

It took him a moment to get enough air into his lungs before he could answer Daniel's potentially relationship-damning question. But like all good tacticians he knew when to go on the offensive. 

"Damn it, Danny, why do you always have to this?" he asked angered that he was going to have to talk about all that had gone wrong over the last few months. He just wanted to start over, but he knew there was no way Daniel would let him get away with that. Jack knew Daniel would want to deal with what was before them, and not sweep it under the rug. 

"Do what Jack? Look out for my own self-interest? Well, you know if I learned anything from you, it was that." 

The venom in Daniel's voice caught him off guard. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Jack demanded, trying to keep the pain from his voice. 

Daniel turned and went to lean against a big pine tree, wrapping his arms around him looking to replace the comfort he felt only a few seconds ago in Jack's arms with his own and failing miserably. He hoped if nothing else he could gain some strength from the evergreen as he told Jack exactly what he meant. 

"It means that I have never met anybody as good as you at protecting themselves. It means that I thought we were friends but somewhere along the way I got too close and you ran away. You ran right to Sam. At first I wasn't worried; I thought you just needed some time and things would get back to normal between us. But they didn't, did they? They got worse. And here we are stuck out in the middle of God knows where, the two of us. Hell of a crossroad, isn't it, Jack?" 

Jack wanted to question Daniel about what he meant by the crossroad comment just so that he could have some time to think but he knew what he meant. He always knew what Daniel meant, even the times he asked him to explain something. It was more often to see the look of exasperation that came over those blue eyes than anything else. 

He knew what Daniel meant was that this was make or break time in their relationship. They could either move forward and take the next step or they could forget all about those few wondrous kisses and go back to the way things were before they got dumped here. But going back would mean the break up of SG-1 and in most likely his retirement. 

He was going to have to decide which scared him more. A life with Daniel in it. And by in it he meant every part: work, home, his bed. Or was he willing to walk away from it all and settle back into a life with no Stargate, not SG-1, no exploring the galaxy looking for Goa'uld, and worse of all no Daniel? 

Ok, Jack, the colonel said to himself in his best command voice, put up or shut up. Daniel's giving you the chance of your lifetime. You going to grab the brass ring or shit all over his parade? 

"Yeah," he agreed. "Kind of a damned if we do, damned if we don't situation." 

Daniel turned, trying to figure out which damnation his friend was more leaning towards but as usual those brown eyes were as secretive as always. 

"Daniel, I want it to be as easy as you seem to think it is, but our careers . . . " Jack explained, but before he got warmed up he was watching the back of an archaeologist stalking into the trees. 

"Damn it, Daniel, where the hell are you going?" shouted O'Neill chasing after his errant doctor. 

Stopping suddenly Daniel felt Jack run into his back. Through clenched teeth he spoke, "I'm not going to stand there and listen to you tell me that I'm naive and stupid for believing that you and I could actually have something worth taking a chance on. I really thought you were a brave man, Jack. But I guess I was wrong. You say that you love me, but yet you aren't willing to take a chance, then why the hell should I be bothered? Well, Jack, if you won't make a move, then I'm going to." 

Daniel turned around and Jack felt compelled to take a step back or he would be burnt by the fire in Daniel's blue eyes. "Effective immediately I, Doctor Daniel Jackson, quit the SGC." 

Jack stood there stunned as Daniel disappeared into the darkness of the forest. 

"Damn," Jack swore and swung his arm out connecting with the large douglas fir next to him. What the hell was he to do now? For crying out loud, he just told another man that he was in love with him and Daniel walked off, in a huff because he wanted to be careful. 

Well, damn him to Hades because he valued Daniel's career more than the doctor did, Jack thought, plopping himself under the tree he gave the upper cut to only moments before. 

"Shit, Jack, who in the hell are you kidding? You couldn't give a rat's ass about your or Daniel's career," O'Neill said with a quiet anger which was directed where it was most deserved, at himself. 

How many superior officers had he insulted or tried to run over if he didn't like the way they were handling things? But now, now the idea of retiring scared the living daylights out of him. Not being able to walk through that gate, and step onto a new planet in only a few seconds. Not fighting the good fight against the Goa'uld. If he wasn't there, who would keep an eye on his kids. And as for Daniel, he had already ruined one career; he couldn't afford to screw up another one. Jack knew without him there that's exactly what would happen without someone else to guard Daniel against himself. 

Jack knew that Teal'c and Carter would be fine and that the two of them would look out for Daniel, but it wouldn't be the same. No one could bully Daniel quite like he could when the good doctor was overdoing it and not taking care of himself. 

And when didn't Daniel over do it, thought Jack. For a geek, the man had the tenacity of a pit bull. He just wouldn't let things go. He just kept digging and harping until he got what he wanted; some new relic or object was uncovered. 

But some things should never see daylight. There were things that were better left dead and buried, but Daniel would make Jack look at them in great detail. Without even knowing he had done it, Daniel Jackson had turned Colonel Jack O'Neill into an archaeologist. 

But instead of the ruins of some ancient culture on PX . . . whatever, he was examining the wreck that once was his life. And the more he looked, the more he realized he was lost and needed an expert to help him navigate through all the twists and turns that he was finding. 

His main problem in asking for help was that the person he wanted to ask the most, was also the cause of most of those new passages he was being force to look at. 

"However, you idiot," came a voice that sounded surprising like his own, thought Jack. "You wouldn't be wandering lost or alone if you just did the Mountie thing, and went and got your man." 

But if we get caught, Jack tried to argue with himself. Maybe you and Danny need to decide what to do if that happens, was the answer he got back. Damn; logical side, he thought, getting to his feet. He had to go and find his missing half. 

"God, I hope these saccharine thoughts don't last long," Jack grumbled, heading down the well established trail Daniel left. 

"God; damn it. Why does Jack have to always be so stubborn?" demanded Daniel Jackson loudly of the surrounding landscape. 

He was tired after storming away; anger could only take him so far. He found a large cluster of evergreens and sat down, trying to think about what had happened in such a short time. 

He had been terrified when he felt those arms wrapped around him just inside his apartment door, but that fear disappeared into a sea of oblivion with the help of a syringe, he figured, vaguely remembering a sharp stab. 

But that fear was quickly replaced with hope. Hope that everything would be all right, that they would get away when he found out that he and Jack were together, wherever they were. He always felt safe when he was with Jack. Safe and cared about, well, he used to, until something changed between them. 

He kept trying to think back to what changed. He must have done something but he had no idea what it could have been. Not that it was a new feeling. 

It was one he was well aware of, and one he felt as a child often. 

"Danny, we really like having you stay with us but it is time to move on," one foster parent would say after the other. He would get some little parting gift, maybe a book or a toy. 

Eventually, he just stopped trying to fit in. It made it harder at school, but he had become tired of trying to hide who he was or what he was. He was a geek and it finally paid off with a scholarship to UCLA and he was free of the foster-care system. Not necessarily free of the baggage that it brought but he was getting closer. But once he was on his own it had been up to him to make or break it on his own. 

And he did make it, on his own. There were a few exceptions to that rule. Sarah, Professor Jordan. But when they did abandon him because of his outrageous statements about the uses of the Egyptian pyramids, it didn't hurt much since it was something he expected. Being on his own was something he was used to, but somewhere it changed when Catherine found him. He had to rely on other people, and that was hard, hell it was nearly impossible. 

He could handle others relying on him; that was fine. He knew that he could get the job done, well, that first day on Abydos,, he hoped he could do the job. 

But after Jack and the rest left he had to depend on Shau'ri and her people to keep him safe and that was humbling. For all his belief in equality for women, he was shocked to find out that he was deep in his heart a male-chauvinistic pig. He wanted to go out and bring home the bacon but those notions were quickly dispelled the first day he was there; everyone worked, man woman and child, or no one ate. It was as simple as that. 

Well, it was until Jack came back for him. Then things got real complicated. 

At first he was too busy trying to find Shau'ri to notice that he had begun to rely on not just Jack, but the whole Team. It was the first rule of many he would break over the next four years. He was beginning to depend on others. 

It was only a year or two later he would notice that it was Jack's dark brown eyes alive with mischief that he would see before he would fall asleep at night, and it was those eyes that followed him through his dreams. And worse yet, it was those eyes that now haunted him in his waking moments. 

Daniel brought his knees up to his chest. He was tired, so very tired. He was tired of fighting against the way he felt. He was tired of trying to make military dunderheads listen to reason. It was one system that he found even more confusing than the foster-care system he spent most of his life in. 

In this organization you were expected to rely on others; they were your Team. They could be the difference between life and death. He did just that: he trusted, not something he did easily but it was something he was willing to do. He could trust Jack, Sam, and Teal'c with his life; that was easy. It was easy to trust someone with something you weren't sure of the value of. But he had started to trust them with his heart, more than that, he had started to trust Jack. He should have known better. 

Jack was the one who on that first night took him in and gave him food, shelter and a strong shoulder to lean on. It was simple, much like on Abydos; Jack was willing to help see him over the rough spots. He and the Team were like that small village on his adopted planet; everyone was willing to work together to protect the Earth, to help find his wife, but when Shau'ri died and that was no longer possible they didn't turn away like he expected; they kept him as part of the Team. It still left him confused, but Daniel was beginning to adjust to the idea that he was a respected member of the first contact team of a rare and special project but even more than that, what took the most work on his part was that he was wanted, not something he had felt in almost twenty-five years. 

But that was all gone. Gone in a flash. Gone because of some stupid thing that he did, something no one had the common courtesy to enlighten him to. How could he rectify the situation if he were kept in the dark. But it was too late now. The respect, the camaraderie, the . . . love he finally confessed even if it was only to himself. He loved the Team; Sam, Teal'c, a family that he never really had before. But Jack was the love of his life. 

He really blew it. He finally told Jack how he felt and now it was all finished. He had lost everything. He should have just been happy with seeing Jack when the older man was willing to let him in, even if it was only during missions. At least he could have clung to his dreams. 

His dream where Jack was willing to put aside his decades of training to look past the insane 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy. But Jack wouldn't or couldn't look past all that. He was a military man through and through. Maybe it had been naive of him to think that Jack would ever do something like that for him. But it was also naive to think that he could control where his sub- conscious took him in his dreams. 

"Shit," Daniel swore, hitting the ground with his open palm. He was living one of his more well-developed fantasies, alone with Jack on a deserted island. 

They would find some sand-covered private cove where they could make love under the sun, and after they rested wrapped in each others' arms, they would wake to make love again with only the moon and the twinkling stars for light. 

"God, I'm such an idiot!" Daniel shouted. "You did it again, Danny, you let yourself want something you were never meant to have." 

"What was that?" asked Jack stepping from the shadows. 

Daniel jumped at the intrusion. "Jack," he growled angrily. "What are you doing here?" 

Jack had to bite his tongue to stop himself from saying something stupid. While it might have gotten him off the hook for the emotional talk, deep inside he knew that one wrong word to Daniel and this 'relationship" would be over before it ever had a chance to start. 

"I came looking for you," he said simply. "I was worried . . . and I wanted to talk to you," he finally admitted. 

Daniel had his arms folded across his chest. It was a familiar stance, one that Jack had not seen in a long time. It was Daniel's 'You're not going to hurt me' look. It hurt Jack to see Daniel reduced to having to use it to protect himself like that, and what hurt worse was Daniel was protecting himself from his supposed best friend. 

"Don't do that, Danny, please," begged Jack, stepping closer to the object of his desire. 

"Do what?" demanded Daniel, his forehead furrowed in confusion. 

Jack pulled Daniel's arms apart and stepped within the embrace. "Don't feel you have to try and protect yourself from me. I won't hurt you," O'Neill said trying to reassure the skiddish Doctor. 

"Jack . . . ," uttered Daniel, letting Jack know that it was too late, he had already hurt him. 

"I know, baby, I know. But I'm going to try and do my best to never let it happen again." Every bit of love and passion Jack felt for the man in his arms he tried to send through those words, but he knew words would not be enough. Jack could feel Daniel trembling as he moved in to kiss him. 

Daniel tried to protest; this wasn't going to solve anything but, as he opened his mouth, Jack's tongue found its way in. 

God, did he taste good. There was a hint of cinnamon in those first few kisses; must be from the pies that Jack enjoyed so much, Daniel thought, pressing his body tighter against O'Neill's strong form. The tangy hint of Jack's aftershave was teasing his nose. He would often find himself leaning closer so that he could imprint that smell into his brain. He had begun to haunt all the cologne counters at the shopping mall trying to find that exact scent, but he never had any luck. 

The farther apart he and Jack seemed to get in the past few months, the more he needed to find it. He needed a reminder of his friend but as Jack moved away from his mouth and started to nibble at his throat, Daniel knew that if they ever found themselves back at the SGC, after this trip, he would need to start his search for the cologne again. He would need a reminder of his lover this time. Jackson knew, like all his other relationships, that this one was temporary. 

"Jack," Daniel moaned, pushing his CO back slightly. 

"Please, Danny, I love you. Don't make me stop," begged Jack, his eyes shining with sincerity and want. "I just want to show you how much I care. I'll be gentle." 

Daniel swallowed hard; no one had ever made him feel the way that Jack did, and if this could only last here then who was he to fight what they both wanted? 

"I wasn't going to stay stop; I just want to lie down before my knees give out. You are a hell of a kisser, Jack O'Neill," joked Daniel, running his hands down Jack's back before he stopped to give his friend's ass a squeeze. 

Jack took an uncertain step back, he wasn't expecting that Danny would just cave in like that. He had rehearsed all that he was going to say on the way to find his lover. Yeah, lover. Jack liked that word. It was the closest thing he had to describing what Daniel was to him. He was his best friend but even that wasn't quite enough to describe him; he was that but so much more. And now he knew what the more was. 

Daniel was his lover, or he would be soon. 

But what about his speech about how much he did love him, about how they belonged together, about how the universe had brought them back together to protect it against the forces of evil? Ok, that one, he admitted, was over the top. 

It was just that he knew that things weren't going to be easy once they figured out how to get away from wherever they were and back to the SGC, but he was willing to try. He could retire easily enough if it got too bad. In other words, if he was putting the other members of the Team at risk just so that Danny was kept safe. Or if Daniel was getting really sick of his overprotective mother-hen routine, not that he could promise he wouldn't worry but he would try to keep it to himself. 

Or if they were found out, he knew Hammond at least liked him and adored Daniel enough to let him just disappear. Since Daniel was a civilian he didn't have to deal with that stupid policy, but Jack would still worry that some stupid Jarhead might try something. But then that's where Teal'c and Sam came in. Jack knew that next to himself those two would keep Daniel safe and probably be less obvious about it then he ever could be. 

Hell, he had been ready to retire before he had Danny in his arms, just because things were getting tense between them. If he was willing to do that when he wasn't even aware he was in love, he could do it now, comfortable in his reasoning. But he still had to work things out with Daniel. 

"We have to talk about this, Daniel," Jack started, only to have Daniel start kissing his throat. 

"Don't wanna talk, Jack," whispered Daniel nibbling on Jack's ear like a starving man. "Do you have any ideas about where we could continue this . . . exploration?" asked the doctor licking a trail down Jack's throat and biting on his pulse point. 

Jack was forced to step back or he was going to lose it all right there and then. He hadn't expected it to be that easy to convince Daniel that they were a good idea. And he held very little hope that he would be able to talk him into sex. No, Jack, he corrected himself, making love. He had managed to create a makeshift shelter for them thanks to a half-tent he found along with a couple of backpacks. He set the tent up along a little cove that he found in his first recon around the area. 

Daniel smiled at the lost look on Jack's face. He wasn't used to seeing his commander this flustered; he liked it. 

"Ah, yeah, I have a place but it still needs some touching up. I found a couple of backpacks with a few things in them," Jack muttered, trying to keep his thoughts moving in a line and not jumping all over the place. The one thought that kept jumping and biting him in the butt the most was that of him and Daniel horizontal on the bed of pine needles he had created as a sleeping space. 

"If you give me a minute, I'll go finish it up," stuttered Jack, waving his hands behind him, indicating the general area of the lean-to he had created. 

Daniel shook his head, no, and stepped closer; he knew that if he let Jack out of his sight he might chicken out of this and let that little voice out that was screaming at him that this was a bad idea. In fact the voice was trying to scream it was one of the worse he had ever had, worse than when he decided to announce his theories about the pyramids to the academic world. But he quickly shut that voice up in a small black box, all he could hear now was his libido screaming, take me, I'm yours. 

Daniel held his hand to Jack and, much to his shock he took it. "Why don't we head back to this place of yours? I've seen your house, Jack; this couldn't look much worse," said Daniel, surprised to hear his voice so clear and strong even though his body was turning into mush. 

Jack smiled at the small joke and could feel a weight slide off his back. This was him and Danny almost like before. Before things all went wrong between them. This was them, talking and laughing together. But with one exception, Daniel's warm hand in his, and the fact that they were going to be making love in a few minutes if he had anything to say about it. And from the dark blue glaze of lust he could see in Danny's eyes, the doctor had a great deal to say about it too. 

Daniel could feel the butterflies in his stomach moving around. He squeezed Jack's hand and tried to force himself to breathe. He felt an electric charge run up his arm when Jack returned the squeeze and his face turn read when Jack looked at him. There was no mistaking what was in those eyes of Jack's. There was want, desire and, if Daniel wanted to kid himself and he did, he thought he could see love. 

Daniel was lost in his thought when Jack tugged on his arm indicating they were at the spot. 

It was surrounded by tall pine trees and down a little way was a cove. Perfect, Daniel thought, perfect for recreating Deborah Kerr's moment in 'From Here To Eternity'. There was a little shelter up against a couple of trees. There were sleeping bags on top of a pile of leaves and pine needles. A small fire pit was in the centre of the campsite. 

Jack stared at Daniel and was surprised by the whiteness of his face and by how fast he was breathing. 

"Hey," said Jack, pulling Daniel into his arms. "We don't have to do this. I don't want to if you aren't sure, Danny." 

Daniel reached up and brought Jack's head down until their lips met. "I want this. I want you; I'm just a little nervous I've never. . ." 

"Been with a man," filled in Jack, caressing the sides of Daniel's cheeks. 

Daniel shook his head. He wasn't exactly new to the same gender dating scene but sex was another matter. He had been hurt badly before. Part of him wanted to tell Jack but there was still that question of trust. Finally Daniel decided, that if it came up they would talk, but until then he would just be the hapless virgin. 

"No, but then I guess you've never been either," Daniel remarked forcing a smile. 

"What makes you think that?" asked Jack gently; he didn't want to scare Daniel off with just how much he did know about what they were doing, or about what he wanted to do to him eventually. 

"What!" shouted Daniel angrily stalking away from Jack. "You've mean, that you have been with men before. So what was all that back before? You trying to tell me I'm too naive to think this could work out and then you stand there and tell me you've fucked men before. I guess your career couldn't have meant that much to you at one time, did it, Jack?" 

Jack ran his fingers through his short greyed hair and sighed. "No," he said quietly; this was something he didn't really feel like shouting. It was too painful to realize that he had been forced to give up a part of himself so that he could have the career he wanted. 

"No, what?" Daniel demanded, with his arms wrapped around him again? 

Jack found an old log and, sitting down, extended his arm towards Daniel. "Would you please come and sit down with me? I don't want to yell about this. It's too important." 

Daniel wanted to tell Jack to go to hell. He couldn't believe his best friend had lied to him for so long, but he saw the scared hurt look in those brown eyes and he was there in two steps. 

"Ok, I'm here." He couldn't keep the hurt out of his voice. 

Jack nodded and took one of Daniel's hands in his and began to trace absent-minded patterns along the palm and the back of his hand. Jack could lose himself in just this feeling. The warmth of Daniel's hand in his, the closeness that they used to share. But that could all be gone if he wasn't honest. Honest with a part of himself that hadn't see daylight in almost twenty-five years. Not since he decides that he wanted the Air Force more than he wanted Scott. It was still a day that filled him with shame and regret. 

"When I was younger, I always wanted to fly. My old man thought it was a stupid dream, but then he thought most of them were. He thought I should go to university and get my business degree and come to work with him in his factory. Could you see me in a suit and tie behind a desk?" 

Daniel closed his eyes and laughed at the image. He felt Jack's arm wrap around his shoulders while leaving the other clasping his hand. 

"Exactly," whispered Jack softly. Both chuckled at the shared image of him in a suit. Jack admitted his dress blues were hard enough but bearable since it was part of the job. 

"But I was having nothing to do with it. My father refused to give me money for college if I wasn't going to do the sensible thing and go to Northwestern and get a business degree. So instead I studied night and day, and got offered a few scholarships; I finally chose to go to the University of Minnesota. My mom's family lived nearby and to her it wasn't as scary of a place as California. I think she was afraid I was going to turn into some long-haired hippie." 

Daniel snuggled in closer as Jack began to run his fingers through his hair. He couldn't stop the shiver that ran through his body when Jack caressed the nape of his neck with those roughly calloused tips. 

The archaeologist mentally shook his head; he was supposed to be listening to Jack speak, not thinking about what else those talented hands could do. 

"So you could have gone to California? What did you study there?" asked Daniel turning away slightly from the colonel. If he stayed any closer, he was going to start ripping off Jack's clothes. 

Jack frowned when he felt Daniel trying to move away from him, so he tightened his grip. "Move away from me and the next place you are going to be, is on my lap, understand?" 

Daniel smiled, thinking Jack was joking, but when he looked up into those dark-brown eyes, he knew Jack was not kidding around. 

"Sorry, Jack, it's just that you keep distracting me. Hell, anytime you touch me, I'm distracted," confessed the younger man. 

"Really?" Jack asked stunned. 

"Really," replied Daniel with a smile. 

Jack rose from the log quickly. "Ok, if that's the case then I'll stand here and talk. You sit over there and listen," ordered the grey-haired man. He knew that touching was good but talking was more important. Touching was easy but talking was hard. However, the best things weren't necessarily the easiest. 

"All right," agreed Daniel. "Jack, if this is too hard to talk about then . . ." Daniel started to get up, only to have Jack push him back down. 

"It is hard but I have to try and explain to you some things about myself. I can believe that you might have some doubts about me and what I said about being in love with you." 

"Jack," said Daniel softly shaking his head. 

O'Neill waved his hands frantically in the air in front of him. "Daniel, please. Just let me say what I need to say." 

Jackson sat back on the log and watched as Jack paced around for a few minutes before the long legs of his CO came to rest in front of him. 

"Yeah, I had the chance to go to California, UC Davis to be exact, but I thought there would be too many distractions there. And in spite of all the bravado you see before you, I was kind of shy when meeting new people." 

Jack waited to see if Daniel would make some smart-ass comment but when he didn't, he felt safe in continuing. 

"Plus I had family in Minnesota and I really loved the wilderness and the wide-open spaces. So I packed everything up and off I went to study aeronautical engineering," Jack said, smiling at the shocked look on his love's face. 

"You didn't think I was stupid, did you, Danny?" Jack asked innocently. 

Daniel shook his head in the negative; he knew that no one could get as far as Jack had in the Air Force being dumb; he just never quite realized how smart his colonel was. 

"Umm, no, Jack, I never thought that; it's just that is a real hard discipline to get into," explained Daniel. 

"Tell me about it. I never worked so hard for anything in my life, but it was easier to get into the Air Force with a degree then to try and get into the Academy. And I know there was no way that my dad would have ever let me do that. You and he share similar feelings about the armed forces. But I didn't care; I wanted to learn to fly and nothing was going to stop me. And almost nothing did until. . ." 

"Until?" questioned Daniel, curiosity burning in his soul. 

"Scott. You have to understand so many things about who I was back then Danny. It was the first time I was away from home. I know my parents loved me but they were your typical middle class family. They were also your typical Irish Catholic family as well. No earth shattering changes should ever occur for James or Margaret O'Neill. Well, the same should be said for their son, Jack. At least growing up." 

Jack swept his arm in a circle indicating the wide space that surrounded the two of them, some things had changed. 

"But back then," hinted Daniel; he wanted the rest of the story. 

Jack took a deep breath; he never in his life had spent this much time talking about himself, but as he looked down into those blue eyes shining back at him with understanding, he knew that Daniel was more than worth a little discomfort. 

"But back then I was an uptight freshman without a funny bone anywhere to be found. All I cared about was the degree and getting up in the air. I even found a farmer who had a small plane nearby. I traded the guy what little money my parents sent me and maid duties for him to teach me the basics of flying." 

Daniel couldn't help but lose himself in the image of a younger Jack O'Neill full of piss and vinegar, talking some old farmer into lessons. 

"Then one day my plans got detoured. . . sort of. I was sitting in the cafeteria eating when this god came and sat down beside me. I know it sounds dramatic, but there was no way else to explain him. He was blond, had green eyes the colour of emeralds, and a body that had muscles on top of muscles. Turns out he was from California and one of the people my mom wanted to keep me away from. He came up to tell me that he just moved into my dorm room. He was a little late in arriving because of car troubles." 

Daniel watched Jack return to his pacing. He knew from the look on Jack's face that this was something he wasn't sure how to say. 

"Jack, just tell me what you have to say. You aren't going to hurt my feelings." Not any more than you already have, Daniel thought to himself. 

"It just that Scott made me feel things that I had never felt before. When I was a kid I had a few good friends growing up, really good friends, both male and female. I never was really interested in dating because it took away from studying. But my parents seemed to think that I needed to go out. I think my dad was hoping I would fall madly in love and want to get married and forget about the Air Force. So I went out and even had a few girlfriends. Even went all the way with a couple of them. That was more at their insistence than my own, but, hey it was nice. And then wham I met Scott. I never considered myself anything but straight. Hell, the idea that I might be anything else never entered my head. I just thought I hadn't found the right person yet but. . ." 

Jack began to pace again; Daniel was sure he could see a groove forming in the forest floor but as long as Jack was talking he wasn't going to stop him. It seemed to him that after more than twenty years, Jack was still learning to deal with these feelings. 

"I never, never ever had a feeling before like that. It was like every bad Harlequin Romance novel moment wrapped into one. I felt hot and cold at once. All I can say was, thank God, I was sitting down or I would have been flat on my back the minute I looked at him. He just smiled this little smile like he was used to this reaction. He stuck out his hand and I gave him mine. We were pretty much inseparable from that moment on. We had lots of the same classes in the first year or so." 

Jack rubbed his hands on his BDUs. "He was going to be a doctor, so we had all our science classes together. I had almost convinced myself that what I felt the minute we met was just a deep connection of two people that were just meant to be life long friends, but that was before he kissed me. And after that there was no going back. For those fours years we were as together as two people could be while still trying to hide under everyone's noses. We shared our dorm room together all that time. Hell, it almost looked like someone's first apartment. Actually I think it might have been nicer than my first house." 

Daniel stood up abruptly and waved his hands. "Ok, I'm confused here, Jack. You just about had a heart attack earlier when I kissed you and here you are telling me about your first boyfriend. I don't know about you, but the last time I looked I wasn't your priest to confess these things to," Daniel tried to rein in the anger, but to no avail. 

Jack stopped his pacing and looked at Daniel; his friend's eyes were flashing a very serious 'get away' message, but to Jack they just seemed to invite him over. The colonel moved and placed his hands on Daniel's shoulders. 

"No, this isn't a confession. It's an explanation as to why I'm reluctant to take you up on the offer of a relationship. And by that I mean sharing everything, the good the bad. Sharing a bed. You should know by now Daniel, if I want something, I really want it. And I would want you with me all the time. But it's not any easier given our current situation of working for the military, any more than it was twenty years ago, is it?" 

Jack let his hands slide down Daniel's arms and walked away the feeling of how Daniel felt against them burning into his mind. 

"Graduation was coming up and Scott was after me to move back with him to California; he tried to convince me that things would be easier for us there. That we could be together, you know, as in a couple, but my plans hadn't changed; I had already been to the recruitment office for the Air Force. Subject to my physical and a few psyche tests I was heading off to boot camp in a couple of weeks. Scott was furious with me. I guess on some level he almost saw us as married. And that decisions like this should have been made together; but Daniel, I never lied to him. I explained the first day we met what I wanted out of life and that was to fly and the Air Force was the way to go. Scott was quick to point out the short life expectancy of anyone suspected of being gay, let alone what happened to those who were really gay." 

Jack took a trick out of Daniel's book and wrapped his arms around himself trying to stop the shivering he felt when he thought back on that moment. He had really been scared that Scott might have blown the whistle but instead he gave him a quick kiss and said that he would always love him. He also assured the soon-to-be Lieutenant O'Neill that his secret was safe with him. The blond wished him luck as he headed back to the west coast. 

"So what did you do, Jack?" demanded Daniel who was tapping his foot. "Stop being gay?" 

Jack shrugged his shoulders. "Something like that. I married the first girl I met, Sarah. She found out she was pregnant just about the time I was ready to walk away and admit defeat. Maybe that's why I went into black ops. I figured if I got killed out there then my secret would die with me. The thing is, or what I guess I'm trying to explain to you with the long endless ramble, Danny, is that I have sacrificed a lot for my career. Scott, Sarah and Charlie too. It we do this I'm not sure I can add you to the altar of my career." 

Jack could feel his knees give out as he sank to the ground he had never felt so tired or so free. He had finally told someone about his past life and instead of worrying that the person might use it against him, he was hoping Daniel might be willing to become another part of his life. 

"Jack," whispered Daniel, hurrying over to where the older man sat. He wrapped his arms around his CO and held him close. 

O'Neill laid his head against Daniel's chest. He listened to the strong beating of Daniel's heart. He felt safe and reassured in these warm strong arms. 

"Danny," Jack said quietly. "I don't want to lose you. I'm not going to throw you away, Daniel, but this has to be your decision too. I'll do whatever you want. If you decide that the risks are too great then we stop this now and pretend it never happened. We go back to being friends. I can't promise that we can go back to being the best of friends or that I won't want to jump you, every time I look at you but I'll try to keep my thoughts to myself." 

Daniel swallowed hard. "Jack, what decisions are you talking about. I love you and if you love me then I want to move forward. But you are losing me here. If you don't want to give us up, then what's the problem?" 

"The problem is," Jack explained carefully. "What if we get caught? Can you live with what that might mean?" 

Daniel pushed Jack's head onto his shoulder. He never really thought about what it would mean if they were caught. But he guessed it was something that they were going to have to think about and deal with. It was hard enough in the real world to deal with being gay or bi, but the military was a very closed society. 

"What do you think would happen to us?" Daniel asked shyly looking out from under his eyelashes. 

Jack lifted his head up and smiled sadly; he knew that he had hit a spot that Daniel hadn't wanted to look at before, but it was one that he knew they had to examine. That, along with many other things, but those could be dealt with after they decided if this was something they wanted, risks and all. He knew he did, but he was close to the end of his career. Daniel could have long career ahead of him with SGC if he wanted. 

"To be honest with you, nothing officially since you are a civilian. Unofficially some of those narrow-minded grunts and Jarheads might decide to do something, but I don't think Teal'c would let it get that far," Jack said seriously. None of this, no matter how unseemly, was to be joked about. 

"And you?" asked Daniel timidly; he already knew the worst case scenario. It involved Leavenworth. It was Jack's turn to bring Daniel's head to rest on his shoulder as he ran his fingers through Daniel's dark silky hair. 

"Best case: Hammond is understanding and I can leave quietly with my pension. And you know the worst case. But I think that would only happen if some of the real higher-ups at NID found out and force George into a corner. But I don't think it would ever come to that," reassured Jack, placing a few quick kisses on Daniel's soft pouting lips. 

"Jack," growled Daniel, pushing his lover back a bit. "That doesn't help me." 

"Sorry," Jack replied contritely, but the twinkle in his eyes said more. 

Daniel put his head back down onto Jack's shoulder; he almost felt like crying. He had everything he had ever wanted so close but because of a few homophobes he couldn't have it without risking not only careers but lives as well, Jack's and his. 

"I don't know what to do, Jack. I want you and I want the SGC," Daniel explained, wiping away an errant tear. 

"It's okay to want both and I understand. Believe me I do. There is nothing wrong with picking your career. The project can't stay secret forever. Someday all this will come out and you will be years ahead of anyone with new theories and, best of all, you will have proof." 

Jack rubbed Daniel's back. He wasn't trying to lay any guilt on, he really did understand and, even if they weren't going to be together, at least at the SGC he would be able to see him and they could still go on missions together. It wouldn't be enough, but it was going to have to be and that was all there was to it, Jack told himself in a voice that was meant to leave no doubts. 

"But if you would let me finish," Daniel declared, angry that Jack just assumed he was picking over the other. "I was going to say that while I want both, the only thing that I truly need is you, Jack O'Neill. So if the offer still stands, I want to give us a try." 

Jack felt Daniel take full advantage of his mouth that was opened from the shock of Daniel's words. Before he could blink, his mouth was full of Daniel's tongue and his arms full of writhing archaeologist. 

"Daniel, are you sure?" asked Jack breaking the kiss off. 

"Yes," he replied breathlessly. "I'm sure. Never wanted anything or anyone as much as I want you. I can live with the stupid 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' and I can deal with the idea that if we are caught it might mean the end of our careers; hell, mine ended in a blaze of glory before. I can certainly handle it again as long as you are by my side. And if I have to, I can even learn to fish so we can retire to that cabin of yours. Is that what you wanted to hear?" 

Jack nodded. It was everything he wanted. A Daniel that was well aware of the danger that they could face if they were found out about, but one that thought he was still worth the risk. 

"Good," smiled Daniel. "Now kiss me, flyboy, and make it good." 

Never let it be said that Colonel Jack O'Neill couldn't fallow orders when it counted. He brought his lips down onto Daniel's and began to nibble slowly at the corners with the occasional swipe with his tongue at that pouting bottom lip. Teasingly Jack slipped his tongue into the warm waiting mouth of his partner. And he knew that was exactly what they would be: partners for life, everywhere but one place. 

"This isn't going to change things on missions you know," Jack pointed out, nibbling on Daniel's throat. "I'm still in charge." 

"Un hun," agreed Daniel. "And I'll still tell you where to get off, Jack. However, when the mission is over and we are back home, I'll be more than happy to help you get it off." 

"Maybe you would like to demonstrate your technique?" joked Jack, rising to his feet and nodding over at the little lean-to that he created. "Whoever brought us here didn't want anything happening to us it would seem," Jack explained as he and Daniel walked over to the shelter hand- in-hand. 

"They left us a couple of backpacks full of things. Including a couple of sleeping bags. There are a few MREs, which will do at least for now. There is plenty of wild game we can catch later." Jack smiled, showing off his home-making skills to Daniel. The bags were lying on a nest of pine needles and leaves. It actually looked very comfortable and Daniel couldn't wait to try it out. 

"Nice job there, Martha. How about you show me how it works?" Daniel joked, but it wasn't hard to miss the tension in his body language. 

Jack came up behind Daniel and started to rub his shoulders. Unable to fight off his colonel's wonderful hands Daniel leaned back leaving his throat open for Jack's sneak attack. Daniel moaned as Jack kissed behind his ear and along the back of his neck. 

"Relax, Daniel. We only do what you want, ok? Have you ever been with another man?" Jack asked in between kisses. 

Daniel shook his head no as he felt Jack's hands work their way under his jacket and t-shirt to touch his skin. Everywhere those magic hands touched him, he burned. Now was not the time to discuss his abuse at the hands of another. The only man he ever wanted was here with him. 

"Only ever wanted you, Jack. Only you," he gasped as Jack massaged his nipples. 

"I'm honoured, Danny. But you have to feel that it's okay to tell me no. If I do anything that you don't like, you tell me. Understand?" 

Daniel nodded, not that he could see him saying no to anything Jack did, if it all felt this good. 

Daniel shivered in the cool late afternoon air as Jack slipped off both his jacket and undershirt. "I hope I'm not the only one who is going to be underdressed for this party," Daniel asked shyly, reaching out to undo Jack's buttons. 

"I think we could work out something," Jack teased, lifting his arms up so that Daniel could slip off his jacket and black standard t-shirt. 

Daniel stopped to admire the man before him. Jack was at the age where most men where starting to let themselves go, but Jack could put a lot of twenty-year-olds to shame. 

"Like what you see?" Jack asked a little scared the answer might be no. 

"Oh yeah," Daniel growled. "Love who I see." 

Jack bent down to the ground on one knee. He ignored their protest. He began to undo Daniel's boots and then he undid his. The voice of experience reminding him that getting pants over boots was not very romantic. 

Once that was done, he took Daniel by the hand and led him over to the bed and told him to lie down. 

Daniel took a deep breath and settled into the makeshift bed. It was surprisingly soft and warm. He smiled as he watched Jack slip his boots off and then his own before crawling over to join him. 

"Last chance to make a run for it, Danny, cause once you are mine I'm never letting you go," Jack told him, running his hand possessively across Daniel stomach, watching in fascination at the shivers that ran through his best friend and soon-to-be lover. 

Daniel covered Jack's hand with his. "Nope, I'm not leaving. You are going to have to kick me out." 

Jack smiled and brought his lips down to touch Daniel's; it was gentle at first but it quickly moved to demanding. Each one trying to outdo the other. Tongues battling to taste the other. Finally the need to breathe won and Jack began to work his way down Daniel's well-toned body. 

His mind was tucking away bits of information, such as the reaction that Daniel made for each kiss and touch. The colonel was mapping this info and he did for any recon mission he had ever been on. Those newly-discovered erogenous zones that he would explore later when there was more time. 

Jack wanted this to be good for Daniel; hell, he wanted it to be perfect, but he also knew that nerves were going to make it hard for his lover. His best course of action was to get Daniel to relax as much as he could and just let human nature take over. The more intimate things would have to wait until later. Perhaps after they got home and they were back at his place. In his king-sized bed where they could investigate the best ways for them to make love. 

Jack continued his mission until he reached an impasse: Daniel's belt. 

"Jack, what are you doing?" asked Daniel. "I don't remember telling you to stop." 

O'Neill glanced up and smiled, fingering the belt. "I hit a small snag." 

Throwing his head back onto the ground Daniel sighed. "You are an Air Force colonel trained to reach your objective. So let's see some of that legendary O'Neill single- mindedness," ordered Daniel thrusting his hips up towards Jack's hands. 

Jack grinned like a fool, attacking Daniel's belt with as much determination as he ever had shown for any mission he had ever been on. 

The belt was quickly removed and, before Daniel could blink, the buttons on his pant were opened, and the cool air was tickling his groin. 

"Oh God," the younger man groaned as Jack's nose nuzzled against his growing erection. 

The smell of Daniel's arousal was more intoxicating than the finest scotch ever could be. Jack rubbed his stubbled jaw along the outline of Daniel's straining cock. The colonel felt a shock of warmth shooting through him as he heard his lover moan. 

It gave Jack a real ego boost, not that he needed one, to know that he was able to get this kind of reaction from Daniel. He finished getting Daniel out of what remained of his clothes and sat back on his haunches and let his eyes roam over the body that he had only allowed himself brief glimpses of when they were in the shower after returning from a mission. 

But unlike those other times he didn't have to dart his eyes away or pretend that he couldn't enjoy what he saw. In fact, he loved what and whom he saw before him. 

"Jack," called out Daniel, a little concerned by the look he was seeing in his friend's eyes. "What are you doing?" 

"Watching you," he answered playfully. 

"Yes, I can see that, but why are you watching me?" he asked as he felt his cheeks turning red with embarrassment. 

"Because," Jack said, laying his body over Daniel's. "You are beautiful, and I've had dreams like this for a long time and I want to be able to remember this day for a very long time." 

Before Daniel could protest, Jack tenderly kissed him, sweeping his tongue inside Daniel's mouth. 

The feel of Jack's still-dressed body was almost too much for Daniel to bear. The roughness of Jack's fatigues against his oversensitive groin was almost enough to make him lose control. 

"Jack, please," gasped Daniel, trying to pull down Jack's pants. "I don't think I'm going to last much longer." 

"Shush," soothed Jack, placing gentle kisses along Daniel's jaw. "Relax, and let me take care of everything, ok?" 

Daniel nodded; he knew Jack wouldn't hurt him, unlike others in his past. "Do you think you could get undressed though? I'm feeling a little self-conscious and very overdressed." 

Jack smiled and immediately setting about rectifying the situation. He removed his pants and boxers quickly and hurried to join Daniel in their bed. 

"Better?" asked Jack rolling Daniel onto his side where he began to caress his body. He started with Daniel's ribs and lightly teased down towards his hips. 

"Jack!" cried out Daniel in frustration. Everywhere that Jack touched him burned with a heat he couldn't begin to explain except to say he wanted more. It was amazing to him how every spot that Jack touched him seemed to be hard- wired directly to his groin. 

"It's okay, baby," cooed Jack, placing kisses along Daniel's jaw and working his way towards his lover's lightly-furred chest and the two pink nubs he knew were there. Jack gently pushed Daniel onto his back and slowly licked the first one until it was standing proud; once satisfied, he moved over and gave the other one the same attention that it so richly deserved. 

The colonel continued on his mission nipping, licking and caressing his way down his lover's body. Soon he had his target insight, well, more like in-chin. He couldn't help but notice Daniel's proud erection as it was tapping him just below his jaw. 

Jack slowly to the rosy tip into his mouth. The older man let a laugh break through when he heard his beloved archaeologist and linguist reduced to a babbling shell of a man. All that he could make out was his name and the occasional, 'oh God'. 

Daniel grabbed onto the bedding when he felt Jack's chuckle shooting through his groin. It was the most intense feeling he had ever had. It was amazing to him how every spot that Jack touched him seemed to be hard wired directly to his groin. 

Daniel tried to bite back the wretched sound from his throat when Jack removed his mouth but he couldn't. He felt lost like he had been set adrift with no hope of finding home. 

He felt someone grabbing his hands and then a weight settle down in between his legs. It took him a few seconds to get used to the feel. 

"Daniel, open your eyes and look at me," ordered Jack. Daniel complied, shocked to find out that his eyes indeed had been closed. 

"I want this to be good for you. I don't want any regrets tomorrow," Jack said, placing a kiss into Daniel's open palm.The colonel had been concerned at the tension he felt coming from his lover when he had first leaned over him. 

"I won't. This is everything I've ever wanted. Well, a bed might be nice but I'll take what I can get. Even if things don't work out the way we want them to Jack, I will never regret this moment or the moments about to come. I love you, and you love me. And in spite of everything out there away from here, it's enough for me." Daniel reached around and manoeuvred Jack's full weight onto himself like a living blanket. 

Jack brought their mouths together, and both men gasped as their fully- aroused members touched for the first time. Their precum mixed and acted as a natural lubricant as both men began to move against each other. 

It was a gentle touching of body against body but after several seconds the pace increased and each man was thrusting against the other faster until they both knew that they were almost at the end. 

"Jack, I can't last . . . ," growled Daniel, grabbing Jack's ass and trying to move the two of them even closer. 

"I know, baby, me either. Just relax, don't try and fight it. Just let go," whispered Jack into Daniel's ear as he wiped a piece of hair out of those blue eyes. The soothing words and the love that he felt with each caress and touch of Jack's body was too much. With one final stroke of Jack's body against his, he came, screaming Jack's name. 

The warmth from the strong explosion of his lover's body was enough to push Jack over the edge as he followed Daniel over the abyss. 

Slowly Daniel opened his eyes to the sight of a grey head resting on his chest. He couldn't help but smile at the memories that flooded back to him and he ran his hand lightly along Jack's backbone. 

"Hmmm," sighed Jack. 

"My thought exactly," said Daniel giving the top of Jack's head a kiss. 

"I only have one complaint," Jack laughed, raising his head to look into Daniel's blue eyes. 

"Only one," teased Daniel, realizing how much he missed the playful banter that he and Jack had once excelled at. 

"Yep." 

"And what would the one thing be?" asked Daniel as seriously as he could with an Air Force colonel laying on him. 

"My butt is cold," answered Jack, grabbing Daniel and rolling them over so that he could flip open the sleeping bag. He then rolled them back but this time they were side by side with his arms wrapped protectively around Daniel. 

Daniel snuggled into the warmth of Jack's embrace and listened to the sound of his heart beating. He could get very used to this but thinking that brought up many questions about the future. 

Jack could feel his lover tense up and that could mean only one thing. Yep, thought Jack as he looked down at Daniel's face, he was thinking again. 

"Go to sleep, Daniel. We can talk more later," ordered Jack, who waited for the inevitable protest but was happy instead to feel Danny curl up beside him with his dark- coloured head resting on his shoulder. God, I could so get used to this was Jack's last thought as he let sleep take him away. 

 

Daniel had never been the best of morning people, even if morning was at night. He snuggled back under the blankets but his pillow seemed to have left. Daniel sat up, suddenly afraid that everything that had happened earlier had been some wonderful dream. But no, he was naked under the blanket and his skin was dry and itchy with the remains of sweat and semen. So where the hell was Jack? 

"Jack," he called out desperately. They should have been more careful; they still had no idea where they were or why they were here. Whoever kidnapped them could have come back when they were asleep. Maybe they took Jack? 

"Yeah, Danny, I'm right here," answered Jack sticking his head back into their shelter. "What's the problem?" 

"I wasn't sure where you were," he answered, ashamed of his weakness. 

Jack cursed himself; he should have known that Daniel would have been scared waking up alone. He knew Daniel was still doubting his sincerity about wanting a relationship with him and what better way to prove it than by leaving your lover to sleep solo. 

"Sorry, baby," Jack reassured running his fingers through Daniel's short hair. "I was just reconning the area to see if I could find any clues to where we were. I also decided that I might need to feed my archaeologists if I expected to get any more out of them like I did earlier." 

"Oh," Daniel replied; he could feel his cheeks turning red with shame. "Sorry, it's just I wasn't sure if maybe . . . I dreamt all this." 

Jack leaned forward and gave Daniel a soft gentle kiss. "I know exactly what you meant. Now would you like something to eat? Whoever left us here seems to know you really well. While they unfortunately did leave us the usual MREs they also left chocolate and coffee." 

Daniel's ears perked up at the mentioning of the last two things. 

"But none for little doctors until they eat all their supper first," joked Jack, who knew how much Daniel hated the ready-made meals. But after four years you think his fine taste buds would have been killed by the Air Force's idea of food already. Daniel glared, but Jack just laughed and offered a wet wash cloth. "You might want to freshen up a bit before supper," Jack explained, heading back out the door before his food burnt on the fire. 

Daniel used the cloth quickly, then he threw his clothes on and headed out after Jack. He was surprised to see how much the colonel had gotten done. The clearing had been turned into a full-blown camp site. 

The brush had been cleared away into a pile to be used for fire wood. There not too far away from their lean-to, was a nice roaring fire. It would help to keep the chill off at night but there was no danger that a spark would set the shelter on fire. 

"Ouch," cried out Daniel slapping at something that bit him. 

"Come closer to the fire; they don't like the heat and the smoke will keep them away," said Jack, waving Daniel closer to him. 

Daniel heeded the advice as he could hear more buzzing about him. "What was it?" he asked, coming to sit next to Jack on an old log the CO must have found and dragged over from somewhere. 

"Mosquitos," said Jack simply, handing Daniel a plate of brownish-grey glop that resembled no food known to anyone but military personnel and a few unlucky civilians. 

Daniel could feel his stomach turning at the sight, but he knew better than to argue with Jack, since he knew where the coffee and chocolate were. 

Jack saw the look and laughed. "MREs tonight, hunting tomorrow. There might even be some fish around here if we can find something to make a pole out of." 

They sat there eating in companionable silence. It had been a while since they both felt the need to just be together. Before they could just sit and not feel the need to talk, but of late even the silence between them seemed laden with something. Now they both knew what it was. Sexual tension and fear. Fear for what the other might think if they were to make their confession about their true feelings. But that was gone now, all that remained was hope; hope tinged with some concern. 

Once they were done eating and the trays had been scraped clean and their garbage had been buried away from the camp just in case the wild animals came by and found them, Jack handed Daniel a cup of coffee and a small chunk of chocolate. 

Daniel smiled gratefully, and slipped off the log and sat down between Jack's knees. He had his back turned and could feel Jack's fingers carding his hair. Most times he hated when people would touch him, but that had never been the case with Jack. He always looked forward to those little touches and pats on the back, but now he lived for those small touches. 

Jack leaned forward and put a light kiss on Daniel's forehead, resting his arm across his lover's chest; right above his heart. 

"Where do you think we are?" asked Danie,l sorry to spoil the mood but his curiosity wasn't slowing down. He had so many more questions to ask and if he didn't get some answers to some of them he was going to explode. He knew he couldn't ask the big one; what happens now with us? straight ou,t so he thought he would work up to it slowly. 

"Well," drawled out Jack, taking the last sip of his coffee. "I would say we are still on Earth for sure, and probably somewhere up north. Minnesota or maybe Canada." 

"How can you tell?" asked Daniel snuggling up to Jack's body. He had never felt so safe in his adult life as he did at the moment with Jack. There was something about being around a fire. It reminded him of growing up in Egypt. All the people would come together after the work of the day was done and the dinner meal had been eaten. There would be music and singing. Stories would be told. He would fall asleep in his mother's arms and awake it the morning in his bed. It was the dearest of his memories. 

There was no music here except that of his heart and Jack's beating in time together. 

Jack looked into those blue eyes to make sure he was being listened to before he started talking. "You there, Danny?" he asked squeezing his friend's shoulder. 

"Yeah, Jack, just thinking. Sorry." 

"No, problem, just try and stay here with me. I would be kind of lonely if you took off. It always scares me that you may not come back when you get that far away look in your eyes." 

Daniel rubbed Jack's calves. "I'm always going to be here, Jack. For as long as you want me and even then you will need a court order to get rid of me." 

Jack smiled; he knew that this conversation could turn maudlin but each man was well aware of what could happen out in the field and this was the place to set the record straight. He also knew that one night of love making wasn't going to fix all that had been done and said over the past six months, nor was trying to set the ground rules out here in the wilderness going to work either. Whatever worked out here wasn't going to work back in the SCG, provided they got back to the mountain. 

"Well, I was saying the reason I think we are up north is because of the stars, the weather and the trees," revealed Jack. "And the mosquitos," he added as Daniel slapped at his arm. 

"Good guess. No, wonder I never came fishing with you. And I can understand while Teal'c never wanted to again," grumbled Danie,l rubbing his arm at the site where the bug bit him. 

Jack rubbed Daniel's head, getting up to get more coffee. He added more to Daniel's cup. " I wandered around while you were sleeping. We seem to be on an island. Are you always that hard to wake after sex?" Jack asked smiling. "I had to peel you off me before I could even get up to take a piss." 

Daniel turned his attention back to his coffee. It had been a while since he had had sex. Not that he wanted to tell Jack that. It was just that in spite of a few moment in which he had been drugged, he had tried to remain faithful to Shau'ri and after she was killed, there was only room in his heart for Jack. Wait, what did Jack say? 

"You went wandering around a strange place without any kind of back-up. What kind of an idiot are you?" demanded Daniel staring angrily at his colonel 

Jack sighed; he should have known he would never get that past Daniel. How come the kid could remember the stuff I told him about wandering around when it applied to others but when it comes to himself he conveniently forgot. "The kind with fifteen years of experiences in black ops, that's what kind. Look, Daniel, I'm sorry, but you were sleeping and I needed to do something. As much as I like spending time out here with you in the middle of nowhere, I want to go home and start a life together," said Jack exasperated, with the object of his affection. 

"You do?" asked a shocked Daniel. 

Jack was about to give some smart-ass answer like of course he did, stupid, when he looked into Daniel's tear-filled eyes. No, he supposed Daniel wouldn't know, Jack thought, looking at the man he loved. 

O'Neill came and sat on the ground beside his lover. "Daniel, I know that it won't be easy for you to believe this, but I love you. Yes, I was a jerk towards you and for that I am truly sorry. But I'm going to try and make it up to you. I also know that there have been others that have hurt you in the past and, if I could, I would hunt each one down and zat them. However, you can't paint me and them with the same brush. I'm not going to ever willingly leave you. That doesn't mean that someday it may not happen." 

Daniel tried to move but Jack had already anticipated that and had ahold of his hands. 

"Daniel," Jack said patiently. 

"No, Jack, I don't want to hear this!" he shouted, trying to break free. 

"Well, you had better. We don't live safe lives, Danny; someday something is going to happen and there won't be the Nox, or a sarcophagus there that can save us. You can only die so many times, Daniel, before Mother Nature says enough. And I want you to know this. It won't be my choice to leave, just like it wasn't your parents' choice to go, or Shau'ri's, or Sarah's." 

Jack tilted Daniel's head up so he could see if what he was saying was getting through. He could see a slight furrow in his brow which meant that Daniel was thinking, and thinking too hard in his opinion. 

"But make no mistake, I don't intend to go anywhere for about fifty years and, when I do, I intend for it to be in our bed with you right there seeing me out," said Jack, placing a soft kiss against Danny's lips. 

Daniel opened his mouth to welcome Jack's tongue in. "That sounds ok to me," agreed Daniel when they broke apart gasping. 

"Good. Have you had enough to eat?" asked Jack, moving over to bank the fire. 

"Ah yeah," he answered, watching as Jack did his best boy scout job on the fire. 

"Then let's go to bed," said Jack, pulling Daniel up to his feet. "Tomorrow we can explore our little paradise home." 

Daniel nodded and allowed Jack to pull him towards the shelter, not that he believed either of them would get much sleep. 

A simple pattern began to develop over the days they found themselves on the island that they named Pleasure Island for obvious reasons. 

They had a simple schedule but one they kept to. Jack would slowly wake Daniel up with long deep kisses, then they would make love. After cleaning up they would eat breakfast and wander about the island trying to figure a way off. They also tried to find something so that they could make some kind of weapons for when whoever it was that left them there finally figured out what to do with them and came back. 

Then after lunch they would go for a swim in the cove and it was Daniel's turn to make his move by offering to rub sunblock on Jack's back. The reality of making love on the beach was so much better than a dream, thought Daniel as he finished making supper. Jack was gathering wood for the fire. 

The evenings were spent around the fire sharing parts of themselves that no one else had ever known about. Jack spoke about the shame he felt when it was discovered that one of his fellow captains was gay. It wasn't because he didn't out himself but because he went along with some of the others in the unit when they went and paid him and his friend a visit. He never laid a hand on them, he swore to Daniel, but it didn't matter to the colonel; he was just as guilty for not helping in his own eyes. 

Daniel tried to offer words of comfort but there really wasn't much to say. Both men knew that the Jack O'Neill on this island would never allow such a thing to happen again. 

They talked a bit about Daniel's times growing up but even with the new openness between them there were things that Daniel didn't want to talk about and Jack was willing to let him have those things. He had a vague idea what they might be just from the way Daniel would react when he touched him in certain ways. Another reason to put going all the way on the backburner until they got home. There were other things that they needed to talk about and what happened to Daniel as a kid was just one of them. Not that he minded if he and Daniel would never be able to have penetrative sex. Then they didn't, but not dealing with the whys wouldn't help; it would only lead to more problems later on. 

Jack, you do have it bad if you are willing to investigate all these potential emotional mind fields. But the reason for most of the talking was because he no longer had to fear what he said. He had already taken the hardest step and told Daniel how he felt and some bits of his past that shamed and feared him. He had nothing to hide from his lover. 

The reason for Jack leaving flying to join special ops was talked about, but once again so much was classified that Daniel had more questions than answers. He did know that it had to do with Charlie's birth and wanting to make the world a better place for him. But there was also the ugly spectre of Jack's sexual orientation hanging over that decision; Daniel couldn't fight a nagging feeling that Jack maybe wanted an easy way out. 

There was the mention of their parents. Jack knew that while his family would like Daniel as a friend for their son, he wouldn't be the daughter-in-law they were hoping for. Daniel thought that his parents would have approved of Jack if they could have met him, only because they were part of academia and as such seemed a bit more open to alternative lifestyles. As for whether that applied to their son he would never know, but he could hope. 

It was a wonderful time of discovery but Daniel wanted to go home; he wanted to see if what they had could survive in the cold hard light of day. It was one thing to play house on some island but it was another to try and make it work surrounded by those that he couldn't tell. 

"Damn," he cursed, pulling the food out of the fire. 

"Daydreaming again, were you, Dannyboy," teased Jack laying down a bundle of logs and sticks? 

"Yeah, something like that," grumbled Daniel, pulling back the foil, hoping it wasn't burnt too badly. 

"Whatever has you worried, you can stop it," ordered Jack, soft slipping his arms around Daniel's shoulders and greeting him with a quick kiss. 

"I wish it were that easy, Jack," sighed Daniel, leaning back into the warmth of his lover. 

"But you can't help thinking about what happens when we get off this place," said Jack, pulling Daniel away from the fire and turning him around so that they were looking at each other. 

"How did you know what I was thinking?" questioned Daniel, shocked at Jack's insight. 

Jack tilted Daniel's head up and gave him a quick kiss. "Because I've been thinking about it as well." 

"Oh." 

"That's all you have to say?" said Jack angrily. 

"What did you think I was going to say?" 

"I don't know. I guess I was hoping you would make me feel better," said Jack sincerely, walking away from Daniel. He bent down and threw a few logs on the fire. 

Daniel exhaled slowly before he went and put his hand on Jack's shoulder. "Sorry, not sure how I can do that for you when I can't do it for me," explained Daniel sadly. 

"So are we saying that we don't believe that this can work?" asked Jack scared of the answer. He knew that one word from Daniel and all his dreams would end here on this little island. 

"Not unless that's what you are saying, Jack? I don't want to give up without a fight, but I'm not sure how I'm going to stop myself from singing out how I feel about you now that I have you," said Daniel, desperate for Jack to understand how much he hated hiding the truth about how he felt about his Co, Not that he wouldn't hide if it meant that they were together. 

Jack stood up and turned to face Daniel. "Don't you think I feel the same way? This is all very new to me but walking away isn't an option, not for me. I just want you to understand that. But the fact is one wrong move one word to the wrong person, and that includes Sam or Teal'c and we may be looking for some retirement land out here before too long." 

"I do understand that, Jack. I really do. But it's just that I don't know if I'm strong enough to do what has to be done. I'm not sure I can lie about my true feelings even to protect us both. I know it's not lying, just omitting the truth but it still hurts." 

"Do you believe that I love you?" asked Jack 

"Yes," Daniel answered back reluctantly. 

"Then that's all that matters. I can't lose you. I almost did when your appendix went. It was that moment that I realized how much I loved you and how close I was to letting you know. I didn't think there was any way though you could feel the same so I thought if I pushed you away I would get over it but I didn't Danny. In fact it got worse. The more I couldn't have you the angrier I got at you. I know it doesn't make sense but that's the way my brain seemed to work. I thought that I was suffering alone and I wanted you to feel as bad as I did. So I attacked you at ever chance I got. I don't want to go back to that, Daniel; I'll retire if that's what's going to happen. I can't hurt you anymore. I won't allow it." Jack bent his head and rested his forehead on Daniel's. "Please don't ask me to." 

Daniel wiped away the tears that were forming in his lover's eyes. "I won't, Jack. I can't be without you either. I know we can make it work; you are just going to have to help me. My heart already beats so loud I think anyone could hear it when I look at you." 

"I can teach you tricks to keep your mind busy," Jack said with hope that things were going to work out just fine. He could have his gating and Daniel too. 

"You can?" asked Daniel. 

"Oh yeah. When you feel like kissing me like this," Jack leaned into Daniel's mouth and ran his lips along the opening that lead into Daniel's warm mouth. 

"What should I do when I feel like that?" asked a breathless Danny. 

"Think about kissing Maybourne instead," Jack said dead pan. 

"Oh yuck, Jack. I may never be able to kiss you again," Daniel laughed, laying his head against Jack's shoulder. 

"Okay, we can't have that. Then picture Hammond." 

"Oh God, Jack that isn't much better," chuckled Daniel, wrapping his arms around his lover's waist. "How about you let me think of someone to take my mind off you?" 

"Sure. Do you really want supper now?" 

"What do you have in mind, Colonel?" Daniel asked innocently. 

"Well, cold or hot these things taste like crap, but you, my dear Doctor, taste like heaven," leered Jack, giving his best predatory smile. 

"Uh oh," Daniel laughed, running away only to be tackled by a very hungry Colonel. 

 

The boat slowly approached the shore of the small island. The three occupants were in a hurry; the sun would be setting soon and then they would be stranded here along with Daniel Jackson and Jack O'Neill. 

"I hope you were right about this ritual of yours, Teal'c. If Colonel O'Neill and Daniel are still fighting then General Hammond won't have a choice but to break up SG- 1. And I don't know about you, but if that happens I'm more likely to end up back at the Pentagon reading SGC reports instead of writing them," complained Major Samantha Carter, tying up the row boat that she and Teal'c had brought over so that they could bring back Doctor Jackson and Colonel O'Neill. She was quite worried about what the duo's reactions were going to be to finding out that they had been setup. 

"I am sure, Major Carter, that it will have worked," reassured Teal'c. Maybe even better that you thought, the large black man thought to himself. Teal'c hoped that his two best friends had managed to work out their differences. There were always certainties in the universe and Daniel Jackson and O'Neill together was one of them. 

"I hope so," she said quietly, hoping that if the worse case happened maybe the general would let her go with another Team; she wasn't willing to stop gating, at least not yet. Maybe if Colonel O'Neill asked her she might consider it. 

"Do you see any path to indicate which way they might have gone?" Sam asked, eager to get going and get the inevitable over. 

"Yes, Major Carter over there. Much like you and I suspected when we scouted the area, O'Neill and Daniel Jackson chose to set up camp near the cove. I can just make out a fire through the brush." 

"Good work, Teal'c; so far I don't hear any yelling so maybe things are working out." 

"Yes, Major Carter, I think that. . ." 

A loud cry for help interrupted Teal'c before he could finish talking. 

"Who was that?" Sam asked crouching down in an all-ready position. 

Teal'c had joined Sam and was making sure his staff weapon was ready to go. "I believe it was Daniel Jackson," he answered dubiously, hoping against hope he was wrong but over the last few years it was a sound he had grown accustomed to hearing on missions. "It was coming from where I saw the fire." 

"Maybe things weren't going as well as we thought," Sam growled, heading off for the camp site. 

 

"Jack, stop, please I give. I give up. No more," begged Daniel Jackson as Colonel Jack O'Neill continued to tickled him. Daniel could see the mischief shining in Jack eyes thanks to the glow from the fire. 

"You surrender?" Jack asked, his hands poised over Daniel's undressed ribs. 

"Yes, I surrender," he gasped as Jack instead of tickling began to run his hands lightly over Daniel's exposed torso. It surprised the younger man that he meant it too; he had give his heart, soul and, with a little patience on Jack's part, he would someday soon give him his body. 

"Mmmm," Daniel hummed as Jack licked and rolled his nipples with his tongue. 

"More?" questioned Jack. 

"Oh yeah, please." Daniel was nothing if not polite and Jack thought that good manners should be rewarded. 

"Oh God, Danny, what you do to me," moaned Jack, working his way up Daniel's throat. He loved the way Daniel whimpered when he started to nibble on his ear and neck. 

Carter was the first to arrive in the clearing; she was sure she could hear someone crying out in pain. And as she stalked closer to the clearing she could see two men rolling on the ground. She was sure one was the colonel, but why would he be fighting with Daniel? 

The major grabbed her sidearm and headed towards the two men before Teal'c could stop her. Anyone with their eyes opened would have seen that Daniel Jackson was not in any danger, but in a world such as the one he found him in the idea that two people of the same gender finding love together was ever more alien than he was. 

He quickly followed after Major Carter, he could only hope to minimize the aftermath that was about to hit the fan. At least he thought that was the right saying. 

"Oh, God," Daniel called out, grabbing onto his lover's arms as he felt Jack's hand slipping inside his pants and gently caressing his hardening erection through the soft fabric of his boxers. 

"Shhh, baby," murmured Jack, kissing Daniel's throat as he continued to deepen his massage. "Let me take care of you. I just want to love you. Please Danny, let me do this for you." 

"Jack," gasped Daniel, at the words he heard whispered in his ear. He knew he couldn't hang on for much longer. He wanted to give so much more to Jack but he was scared, memories from long ago were still too, close to the surface. 

"Jack, I want to . . . ," Daniel sobbed, trying to get the words out. 

O'Neill pulled back so he could see into those blue eyes that had captivated his heart so long ago. He could see how upset Danny was and it had him worried. 

"What is it, Danny?" asked Jack, smoothing away the hair that had fallen into his lover's face. 

"I want to show you how much I love you, Jack, but I'm scared. There are things that I just can't. . . I want to tell you but. . ." 

"Danny, I have no doubt about how much you love me. All I have to do is look into your eyes and I can see it. As for us doing anything more than we have been doing, I'm fine with it. I'm not going to push you into anything you don't want to do. So I don't want you to push yourself either; do I make myself clear?" asked Jack, tenderly wiping the tears out of his lover's eyes. 

"Yeah," Daniel rasped, his voice heavy with emotion; he still felt like he was letting Jack down but he would have to fight those demons later. 

"Good," said Jack, pulling Daniel up into his arms. "When we get back home, you and I are going to have a very long talk about things, ok? What you are comfortable with, and what you aren't. I've been able to figure out some of it just by how you tense when I touch you in certain places. And when you feel up to it you can tell me about it, but I won't push and if you ever feel that I am, you tell me to bugger off and mind my own business." 

Daniel melted into Jack's arms with relief. The tension that he had been holding within his soul was gone, and he felt for the first time in a while almost whole. He knew he could tell Jack anything and eventually he would, but he was grateful that it could be on his own timetable. He put his head on Jack's shoulder and let so many things go. He knew that they would be all right and that he was loved by a wonderful person. 

"There, there Danny, it's going to be ok," Jack whispered, into Daniel's ear as he rubbed his back. He wasn't sure what brought this on, but he appreciated the trust Daniel placed in him. You had to believe in someone a lot if you were willing to fall to pieces in front of them. 

"Sorry, Jack," he croaked. Both men looked at the other and laughed. 

"Apparently Kermit the Frog was invited," joked Jack, falling onto the ground. 

Daniel laid himself down beside his lover and smiled. "Thanks, Jack," he said in a much cleared voice. "Thanks for being here for me." 

"Always Dannyboy, always," Jack said softly, rolling Daniel onto his back and kissing that sweet mouth of his. 

"Ouch, Jack, stop," Daniel cried out as he went over onto his back. 

"Yes, Sir, I think maybe you should do just that," ordered Samantha Carter her 9mm pointed at her CO's head. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Colonel O'Neill and Daniel. Sam shook her head. There had to be a reasonable explanation for this; there had to be. Jack would never attack Daniel, not like this, so what does that leave? 

Jack slipped off of Daniel and turned to stare at his second-in-command. 

"Carter, where the hell did you come from?" demanded O'Neill getting to his feet. He adjusted himself, hoping to hide his growing interest in his archaeologist from his major. Once he was sure his hard-on was disguised, he bent down to help Daniel up from the ground. 

"Freeze, Colonel," ordered Carter, moving closer to Daniel. 

Jack couldn't hide the astonishment on his face. "What the hell is this all about, Carter?" How dare she get that close to his Danny, Jack thought as he watched her bending over helping Jackson to his feet. 

"Are you all right, Daniel?" asked Sam getting the confused Doctor to his feet. 

"Yeah, Sam, I'm fine. Why are you holding a gun on Jack?" questioned Daniel, trying to move closer to Jack only to have Sam pull him back to her side. 

"Why do you think?" Sam said angrily. "He was attacking you, Daniel." 

"No, he wasn't," said Daniel disbelievingly. But he stopped before he could say anymore. He wasn't sure what to say; this was Jack's career that was in danger. 

Jack took a step closer to Daniel only to come face-to-face with Sam's gun. 

"I said, don't move." Sam's voice was as cold as the Antarctic ice he had once found himself buried in. 

"Oh for crying out loud," shouted Jack, trying to grab the gun only to have Sam backhand him across the jaw. Jack saw stars explode as he staggered back and tripped over a log. He cried out in pain when his ass hit the ground. 

"Sam," cried Daniel in shock as he rushed over to Jack's side. 

Carter stared at the scene before him. Why would Daniel rush to the side of the man who had been attacking him? Sam was getting more confused all the time. Why wasn't Teal'c more upset; she would have expected the big Jaffa to toss the colonel through a tree? 

"Major Carter?" asked Teal'c as he rushed to her side. He could see the confusion in the blonde's eyes as he removed the gun from her shaking hand. "I am pleased to see that you and O'Neill were able to come together," Teal'c said with a smile at Daniel. 

Sam turned to face the large black man. "This is wrong, Teal'c; we shouldn't have messed with Daniel and the colonel," confessed Sam, waving her hand around at the camp site. 

Daniel dabbed his handkerchief to the split lip of his lover. He was vaguely aware of Teal'c surprise appearance but he was too concerned over Jack to worry himself over it until he heard the hushed whisper of Sam's admission. 

"What did you two do?" asked Daniel coldly, helping Jack to sit down on the edge of the fallen tree. 

Sam looked at Teal'c and shrugged. "Do you want to tell them or should I? 

Teal'c nodded; he would do it. It was, afterall his idea and, based on the little that he could see the experiment had worked. Daniel and O'Neill had worked out their differences. 

"Daniel Jackson, you and O'Neill were participating in Cules'rak." 

"Cules'rak? The friendship test? You thought we needed to test our friendship!" demanded Daniel He wasn't sure whether to be angry or touched that Teal'c and Sam went to all this trouble for them. But in the end he was grateful that he had such good friends who cared enough about him and Jack. 

"We felt that you and O'Neill needed some time together to work out how the two of you felt about each other." 

"We did?" asked Sam looking at the Jaffa with her blue eyes bugging out of her head in shock. 

"And how do we feel about each other?" asked Jack, finally finding his voice now that his head felt like it wasn't going to fall off his body. He figured that if it was going to hit the fan he wasn't going to turn the switch on. 

Teal'c gave the colonel his 'you must be joking' look. "To anyone who knows you it has always been very obvious that you and Daniel Jackson have some very deep feelings for each other. I had hoped that you would not need my help but when it became clear that the two of you would not admit to your feelings I knew that Major Carter and I would have to act." 

Sam sent a killer look behind Teal'c's back towards Daniel and Jack as the younger man moved to sit down by their CO. This was never in her plans. It was supposed to be she and Jack. It had been in every other dimension; why couldn't it be in this one? She just wanted the two of them to get their friendship back on track so that she could get Daniel to help her win Jack over. Now it looked like she would have to do it all on her own. 

"Sam?" asked Daniel, looking at her with his big blue eyes. "You think the same thing?" 

"Um ," she stuttered; how could she answer that? All she wanted to do was to run away and hide. It was her own stupidity that allowed this to happen. She had no problem with gays in the military but when it was the man she loved she had a huge problem. But this island wasn't the place to bring to light how she really felt. 

It would take a few nights and a few bottles of wine with Janet to figure out what to do. Maybe they could start tonight; she could tell she was going to need a good friend and a good drunk. As she looked over at the duo she could see the warmth between them as her heart broke. 

"Daniel," Jack warned. "Even if she did feel the same way, the major wouldn't be able to say anything." 

"Oh yeah. Sorry, Sam. I forgot," Daniel blushed, moving a little away from Jack only to be pulled back. 

"Danny, there is nothing wrong with two friends sitting together," Jack hinted as he put his arm around his lover and friend. 

"Colonel, we should get going," Sam told Jack waving towards the boat. "Lieutenant Dreyfus is waiting at the boat to take us back to the mainland." 

Daniel got up and pulled Jack up. "Well, let's get going," Daniel said, giving Jack a wink. A soft bed would be really appreciated. All that room to experiment. Jackson could feel his face turn red as he thought about what they would be doing later. 

"We have a plane waiting for us in Minneapolis," Sam said, gathering up the backpacks and the other supplies that had been lying around. 

Jack looked around the empty camp a little sadly; he was happy to be going home so that he and Daniel could start their new life together, but he was sorry to see the end of their time alone together. Once back they were going to have to hide the true nature of their relationship and while he knew it was going to be hard on his young lover he hated to admit that it was going to be hard on him as well. He wanted to yell to the world, as they headed back down to the shore, that he was in love with this young wonder, but he knew that he and Daniel still had lots of work to do. Together they would find some way to save the Earth from the Goa'uld, hopefully before anyone found out about them. But if they weren't that lucky then they would retire and live their life as best as two men in love could. 

"Jack," called Daniel, breaking through the older man's thoughts. 

"Sorry. I was just thinking," admitted Jack, hurrying to join Daniel who had started to follow Teal'c and Sam back down to the boat. 

"I noticed," joked Daniel, smiling at his wonderful lover. The younger man looked around to see that they were alone before leaning in and sneaking a quick kiss. 

"Hmmm," moaned Jack as Daniel slipped out of his grip. "Come back here." 

"Uh hun," Daniel teased. "You are going to have to wait until we are home. And alone," he stressed. 

"Danny," growled Jack lustily, reaching out and grabbing Daniel around the waist. "I'm going to hold you to that." 

Daniel reached out wrapping his arms around Jack's neck. "I promise," Daniel whispered in Jack's ear. 

"Good," said Jack, placing a gentle kiss on Daniel's nose. 

"You missed," Daniel pouted. 

Jack groaned as he leaned in to kiss the sulk right off his lover's lips. "You will be the end of my sanity," Jack complained, giving Daniel a hug. 

"I certainly hope so. I would hate to be the only one around here losing their mind." 

"O'Neill, Daniel Jackson, we must hurry before it is too dark. If we do not get off the island before dark then we will all have to stay for the night," Teal'c reminded the duo. 

Daniel and Jack looked at each other and hurried down the path to the boat. If it was between cuddling right now and sharing their island later, or having a big bed for just the two of them, there was no contest. 

"Daniel, move it," ordered Jack, smiling and holding out his hand. 

Daniel returned the smile and grabbed Jack's hand, his hopes were high that things would work out, but if they didn't at the SCG he knew that he and Jack would be together.


End file.
